The Deepest Depths
by InheritanceConfessor2011
Summary: Taking a chance to get away for the summer,and away from the English rain. Harry agrees to go on adventure. Leading him to take on unknown dangers and challanges, as he explores the dark depths of the deep blue sea. Who knows what treasures he could find. Set after the 3rd Year, M for Mature themes and content, No slash. Going under Rewrite
1. The Offer

**The Deepest Depths**

**Summary: **Yes I have decided to do this story after all. While it's planned to be a standalone tale, it may grow into full story, but I'll wait and see... so no promises. It will depend on how I feel, and what the reviews are like.

I would like to get this story to around twenty chapters of around 2-4k words each. This is **my target** and my goal for what I want to achieve with this fic.

This in tribute to the 'curse summer' story, which I recommend you read. Just look on my profile, under favourite stories for necessary link.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, it all belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**The Deepest Depths – Chapter 1: The Offer **

**Beta by ****Sekhmet49**

**05/08/2012**

"Harry was walking leisurely towards his head of house office. Surprisingly, he had been summoned just the day before the end of the year, although for unknown reasons. He hadn't done anything to warrant such convocation. He wasn't even involved in that much trouble this year. After all, it wasn't like he went looking for trouble; trouble just happens to always find him.

Passing by a window and observing the school grounds made him reflect on his eventful year. One thing was sure, he was eternally thankful for the dementors' departure! Although, it was a shame that Remus was also leaving; he had been, despite his werewolf condition, the best DADA teacher they had had so far. Not that it meant much, mind you.

Not yet at his destination, he again immersed himself in his thoughts, mainly about the escape of Peter, his parents' traitor, or about what his own animal form would be, should he attempt to become an animagus, like his father and godfather.

Once at McGonagall's office, he firmly knocked on the door.

"Enter!"

Carefully closing the door behind him, Harry questioned his teacher, musing over the note he had received from Katie earlier this morning.

"You wanted to see me professor?"

"Yes, Mr Potter. Please, sit down."

Taking a seat across the desk, he couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. His teacher's expression was certainly stern, making it clear it was not a social call.

"I'm sorry Madam, but, your note was rather vague. What did you want to talk to me about?"

After a short pause to gather her thoughts, she answered.

"I'll go straight to the matter at hand, Mr Potter. It has occurred to me that your home life has not been the best, and several times I have approached the Headmaster about moving you into someone else's care. He has refused each time now to even acknowledge the point." She explained.

He didn't say anything, just wondering how many teachers knew of his summer living conditions.

"Well, I have decided to take matters into my own hands. A nephew of mine is currently looking for an apprentice for the summer holidays, one willing to go on bit of an adventure with him," she explained.

He had to admit that the idea of travelling for summer had some appeal, seeing the world was far better than doing chores all summer. Speaking carefully, trying not to get his hopes up, "I've to admit I'm interested, but what does your nephew do exactly?" He asked.

"Well, my nephew is a shield brother, who helps to protect curse-breakers while they are on expeditions. They are the physical barrier between the curse-breakers and any raiders who would wish to steal whatever treasure has been found. They also deal with any of the more physical defences. But all shield brothers and sisters are expert duellists and spell casters, who have multiple masteries in DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration. I won't lie to you, there is a real possibility that you could die on this adventure, but you will be surrounded by highly skilled wizards and witches." She explained truthfully.

Thinking over the information, he realized that even with a possibility of being killed, he was still interested; he had faced dangerous odds before and walked away. And frankly, he'd rather be facing raiders and unknown dangers than having to endure another summer at the Dursleys', plus he would be allowed to use magic, "I can't say that I'm not interested, however, could I give you my answer this evening or tomorrow morning, just so I can do a bit of reading about it," he asked.

"I understand, but I suggest you to keep this quiet, and to not share it around, since the Headmaster will make attempts to stop it from happening," she explained.

"I understand Professor. I just want to know what I'd be signing up for before I commit to it. I'd rather avoid having to fight another basilisk," he said trying to add bit of humour.

"Indeed. Are you aware that you are within your rights, to sell the corpse of the basilisk in the Chamber?" She asked.

"No, I wasn't, thank you for telling me," he said, wondering how much the corpse could be worth.

"Well Mr Potter, you have some reading to do then, I suggest you to visit the goblins over the summer, and to talk to your state manager. As I believe Albus has been handling your family affairs, rather than letting a ministry official abuse the position," she explained.

Realizing he didn't know about a lot of things, he made a mental note to look into his family affairs, and all the things he had taken for granted since returning to the magical world. "Thank you, I'll look into it as well. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Well if you do go on this expedition, make sure to work on your duelling and spell work, since next year Hogwarts may be hosting a duelling competition, and I would like a Gryffindor student to win," she said with a smile.

"I'll try my hardest," he promised, before starting to leave the room.

"You better Mr Potter. People will expect you to take part, and to be at least be in semi-finals even if you are just a fourth year, so don't let me or Gryffindor down, I want us to win the Tournament!" She said passionately.

Closing the door, he suddenly had the feeling that the next year was going to be more interesting than this one, and that he would be put into the spot light once again. At least his head of house had given him a warning in advance, so he could prepare for it, both physically and mentally.

Later that evening, he was reading a journal on curse-breaking and the corresponding career path of a shield brother or sister. The journal was interesting to say the least; the possibility to travel, to be well paid, and to have a share of the loot, it was like an adventure out of story books. And it was considered an honour to be accepted into the shield brothers ranks.

Sure, he understood the book was trying to sell the career path, but he wanted to at least try it. Frankly, it sounded better than being an Auror, plus it paid far better. This way, he could travel the world, be challenged with puzzles, meet new people and discover exotic magics, whiles dodging dangers.

"What are you reading?" Hermione asked, causing him to look up from his book.

"Just about a possible future career path,"

"Really! How sensible of you Harry! I really need to consider my own, so much to do," she started to explain, while listing her interests.

"Hermione, there's no need to panic, Professor McGonagall thought it'd be good for me to get some ideas, to help focus my studies and development for the next school year," he explained hoping his friend would accept his answer.

"What career are you reading about then?" she demanded.

"About shield brothers and sisters," he said, offering no further explanation.

"I haven't ever heard of them," she huffed in an accusing manner.

"They support curse-breakers in their expeditions. In short, they provide protection against raiders, creatures and guardians left in tombs, while the curse-breakers mainly focus on taking the wards and magical defences down. They're the muscle in the team," he offered in explanation,

"They must not be very good if I haven't heard of them," she said in a disapproving tone.

"Hermione, you are not all knowing, you're a third year going on fourth year. To become a shield brother or sister you need to have at least 2 masteries: in DADA, and charms. But most end up having an average of 4 in total, with other masteries such as runes, transfiguration or in COMC. Due to their duties they're expert duellists, and you have to be introduced into their ranks, it pays almost triple what the average ministry job pays, without including bonuses you get from a successful job!" He explained, while trying to keep his frustration in check.

"Give it here then," she said moving to take the book.

"No, I'm not done reading yet. If you want to read about them, go to the library or wait till I'm done," he retorted angrily, before getting up and heading to his dorm room. He had already decided he would go, on the trip!

The next day, he walked up to his head of house and announced "I'm in," with all seriousness.

**Hogwarts express**

Looking out of the window as the country side passed by, he wondered what he would see during his travels this summer. What challenges, what dangers he would face. This was going to be by far the coolest summer ever.

Where would he be going? Visiting the Valley of the Kings like Ron's brother William had? Hiking his way through the jungles? He couldn't wait to find out. Anyway it was far better than staying his relatives.

Sure he understood why the headmaster wouldn't allow him to stay with either Sirius or Remus, due to their current difficulties of one being a wanted man, the other, a werewolf. But, why couldn't he stay at the Weasleys' or the Grangers' over the holidays? Surly additional wards could be set up to protect them.

At least, this year he would, at worst, have to endure a week or two with the Dursleys, depending on when he left and when he returned.

Seeing the countryside passing by through the window, he reflected on his future, on what he wanted to achieve. He always wanted to travel and see the world, so why shouldn't he? Didn't he deserve a break, a change?

"Do you want a game mate?" Ron asked.

"Not right now Ron, I just need to think," he replied, not even listening to Ron's reply, more concerned about what he would need to do in the next couple of weeks.

Making a mental list of what was needed, while following absentmindedly the conversation. Ultimately, he would have to pack light, and take the basics. He would have to wait until he had meet Richard, before knowing for sure what to bring.

So over the next couple hours, he carefully planned out what needed to be done, and the best way to do it, without attracting immediate attention.

Arriving at the station, he said a quick good bye to his friends, before quickly disappearing to find his uncle, rather than keeping him waiting. Going through the portal, he spotted his uncle quite quickly, standing off to one side. It was hard to miss him since he had put on even more weight since the last summer.

Walking up to his uncle he said as nicely as possible, "Uncle, I have a possible deal that you will be interested in hearing, but I doubt you will want to discuss it in such a public place."

His uncle grunted in response, "Wait until we're in the car boy," before leading Harry away.

Harry didn't bother making small talk, it would just annoy the man, and the last thing he wanted was the man being spiteful on purpose rather than listening to a deal where both of them would be happy.

Getting close to the car, he discovered it was a new BMW. It didn't really surprise him since Vernon got a new one every other year. He put his trunk and stuff in the boot, being careful not to scratch it, before taking a back sit.

"So what is it you wanted to talk about, boy?" His uncle asked.

"Uncle, I've been offered a chance to go on a trip this summer, as an apprentice by one of my teachers. The trip is meant to leave next week on Wednesday, and lasts for the next nine to ten weeks; in short, I would only be staying with you for two weeks of the summer. You made it clear you'd rather not have me under your roof, this way I am only a burden for you the next two weeks. So, you don't have to put up with my freakishness, we both gain from this, I get a chance to work, and you get a chance to get rid of me for the most summer, it's a win-win situation for the both of us," he explained seeing his uncles eyes light up with interest.

"Ten weeks you say? I don't have to pay anything to get rid of you?" He inquired curiously.

Ignoring the comment about paying to get rid of him, "No uncle, I just need both you and Aunt Petunia to sign a couple of documents giving me permission to go, and I'll be out of your hair for most of the summer at no cost for you. Plus, if I perform well I may be given the chance to go on a similar trip next summer and the summer after that. Just think of it as a business transaction, I gain a chance to work, get a job, so when I finally complete school, I won't have to be a burden you, and you get magic out of your house faster," he explained.

"I'll think about it," his uncle said, before starting the car.

"Of course, but I need to know by Sunday evening at the latest" he lied, putting a deadline on the offer to add pressure and not give his uncle and aunt much time to think about it.

He stayed quiet the rest of the journey home, letting his uncle brew on the idea of not having him around. He did nothing to anger the man, just kept quiet.

He didn't have to wait long, maybe an hour, before his uncle said "where do I have to sign?"

"I got the permission documents in my trunk, I'll get it out soon as we arrive," he said, keeping his voice calm, but internally dancing.

By the time he went to bed that night, all the documents had been signed and dated, giving him permission to go. He couldn't help but smirk at how easy he had been able to play on his relatives' desire to get rid of him.

He attached the necessary permission documents to Hedwig leg, so she could take them to Professor McGonagall to co-sign, before passing them on to her nephew Richard. He was going to enjoy this summer!

Before going to bed, he got out a DADA book to read. It wouldn't do to turn up without some knowledge of advanced hexes and curses.

Plus he wanted to win the upcoming duelling tournament, which his head of house had warmed him about in the upcoming school year, to prove there was more to him than just a scar on his forehead.

**End of chapter 1**

* * *

I'd like to say thank you to Sekhmet49, for checking my story.


	2. Meeting Richard

**The Deepest Depths**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, it all belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**The Deepest Depths - Chapter two: Meeting Richard**

**Beta by Sekhmet49**

**05/08/2012**

It was funny how nice his relatives were being, now that he was going to leave in a couple of days. His uncle even offered to drive him to London to help ensure he was fully equipped for his journey.

He had politely declined saying it wouldn't be fair on them, since he didn't know how long he would take.

So here he was, waiting in a small pub in Diagon Alley for Richard to arrive.

Since he was early and hadn't eaten yet, he ordered himself breakfast, musing over everything he knew about what would be required of him on this trip.

Half way through his English breakfast, a shadow was casted over him, he looked up to see who it was. Seeing it wasn't the waitress or barman, he asked "Richard?" looking at the muscular figure in a brown worn trench cloak. Carefully examining the guy, one could easily see scars on his arms, a tell-tale signs of battle.

"Indeed, you must be Mr Potter, my Aunt spoke highly of your potential," he answered, before taking a seat across from him.

"Really, are we talking about the same person?" He asked, not being able to remember the last time he had received praise from his head of house.

"She wouldn't have put your name forward if you didn't," he said seriously, "please, tell me which other third year was able to master the patronus charm? Or killing a basilisk as a second year with just a sword?"

"You seem to know a lot about me then," he probed, thinking over the fact that the man knew so much.

"I know enough to judge you're capable. Normally, my Aunt only sends me NEWT students who have an interest in this career," he said seriously before pursuing, "I don't know how much my Aunt told you, but in this line of work, it is both dangerous and demanding, you either swim or sink, there no middle ground in this work."

"Yeah she said that, but I've faced my fair share of dangers," he replied, thinking over each fight.

"Do you have any questions about what is expected of you?" Richard asked.

"Not really, I've read up in advance to get some ideas of what we could possibly be facing, I was just unsure about what was needed? Since she didn't know, she said I would have to ask you for the details."

"I'll recap then. First we mainly guard the curse-breakers, in short, security, when we enter a site, we will be responsible for protecting them from physical guardians and any magical traps. We are shields for them. If and when we're not doing these duties, we generally hunt for any rare beasts, to increase our profits, as any bonus finds are shared, on top of our standard fare. There are also certain loots we are allowed to keep for ourselves," he explained.

"How big is this team? Because I read it could be as small as six of us, or anywhere up to one hundred if the site holds promise."

"This is a small team, you could say we are scouting a possible location; there are 11 of us in total, a healer of course, and maybe her assistant if she brings one, 3 breakers, plus one of them will probably bring their own assistant, and botanist, and the rest of us are shields. About where we're going, I can't say until we're underway. But it will be hot and wet, you can swim can you?" He challenged.

"Yeah I can swim, it's been a while, but I can swim. Not an amazing swimmer, mind you, but I won't drown, I just never had the need to swim much before," he admitted, since there was little point in lying, the man would find out in a couple weeks.

"Well you'll be swimming quite a bit; one of the sites is only accessible by swimming. But there are potions and spells that can help with that, which I'm sure, you'll be able to master because they are easier to learn than a patronus." Richard replied "It will also help you put on some muscle mass."

"Yeah, it'd be great," he admitted, since he would like to bulk up a bit.

"Now finish your breakfast, we need to get you a quick medical exam. Can't have you coming with us if you have some type of issue!" He said sternly giving Harry a quick look over.

"Fine, give me a minute, to finish this," he replied.

"While you are eating, I'm going to ask you some questions to assess your knowledge," Richard said.

"How come I get the feeling this is going to be a long day?" he said.

"You'll get used to it," Richard said with a smirk which reminded him of his head of house.

**Sometime later**

"Interesting Mr Potter," Alice said, whiles examining his medical results.

"Interesting, how so?" He questioned, wondering what was so interesting.

"First, you got several core blinding spells on you, which I'll remove shortly, a couple more years they could have cause some serious harm to you," she explained seriously. "You also have a lot of scaring and bone damage, and you're underfed, any reason for this?"

"Madam, everything said here will be kept private, won't it?" he asked carefully.

"It will, but I will have to tell Richard if it affects your ability to operate during an expedition, or endangers other members," she answered sternly.

Sighing, before carefully speaking "Let's just say my muggle guardians were abusive and often used me as beating bag. It only stopped, after I joined Hogwarts, since then they have just avoided me," he said.

"Well, I can understand your desire for privacy due to your status; I can provide you with some healing potions which should repair the damage. You won't be as good as new, but it is the best option, undoing your core bindings as well. It would be best if you'd avoid doing any demanding magic for at least the next couple weeks, to let your core settle down. Then take it easy," she said.

"So I'll still be able to go?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't see why not, I will have to tell Richard, so he can take this into account, but you have to promise me you'll follow the potion regimen I give you to the letter," she demanded.

"Yes Madam, but I'd like him to give an Oath to not to share the information without my permission or unless I am unable to pass on the knowledge myself," he asked.

"I'm sure he will understand," she said before allowing Richard back into the room and explaining the situation.

Richard looked at him, seemed to be pondering before saying, "To be honest here Harry, if I take you with me I could possibly endanger myself and my shield brothers and sisters, how bad is it?"

"It doesn't leave this room," he stated seriously, not wanting any pity.

"I promise," he said seriously, before making a vow.

"I didn't learn my name until I was five, was often beaten and half starved, and my bedroom was a cupboard, whenever something went wrong it was always my fault" he said before speaking honestly, "I'd much rather be fighting a Dementor, or a Basilisk again than stay with my relatives. But I'm forced back there every year due to blood wards. I am told they are the best means to keep me safe." He finished, thinking about his chat with the headmaster about the issue.

"Hmm, I'll take you with me, but consider this, blood wards only work if you consider them family, if you denounce any blood or magical connection with them, it breaks the wards permanently. So you would never have to return there, at least to my knowledge. But I don't understand why it would be still necessary," he finished mumbling more to himself than anyone else in the room.

"Well..." looking up to see both Richard and Alice watching him, he decided to tell them a bit about Lord Voldemort.  
"Some evidence suggests Lord Voldemort somehow managed to cheat death that night, or had some type of safe guard in place, from what the headmaster said, and that my mother's sacrifice added a blood protection, therefore he can't touch me, or harm me with any spells, hence the need for me to stay with my mother's blood family," he explained to them, seeing them pale at the idea of Lord Voldemort being somehow alive.

"That's hard to believe..." Alice muttered, not believing what she was hearing.

"Well, a follower broke into Hogwarts in my first year, and admitted he had been sent by his master. But from what the headmaster said, Lord Voldemort went deeper into the dark arts than any dark lord before him. And there are rituals what can be done to ensure ones rebirth if you are willing and able to pay the necessary price, and he was certain that Lord Voldemort was more than capable," he described, trying to think about that chat he had had at the end of the second year.

"He said I was too young to be burdened with the details, but he was investigating it quietly, due to not wanting to cause a panic or to cause other death eaters to seek out their fallen master and assist in his return."

Both his listeners were deep in thought for several minutes. Finally, Richard spoke again.  
"Thank you for being honest with us Harry. I have to admit, it was more than I expected, but I'll keep it secret. I can understand why the Headmaster wanted to keep it quiet." He then turned to Alice.

"I've encountered products from such early rituals, such as mummies in Egypt, I agree it's best to keep this quiet. How about you start removing the binding spells on Harry's core?" he turned, driving the discussion onto safer grounds.

Eventually, they left the private healer, and Harry was feeling lighter and more charged than ever before he turned to Richard and asked "What else do we need to do?"

"We'll pick most of your gear up over there, since you will find it hard to find the necessary gear around here for where we're going, unless you want to pay a small fortune for it. Far better to pick it up over there, at a faction of the cost, and get better equality"

"You still haven't said where we are going," he pointed to Richard.

"We will be around the Mediterrean for a bit, we found several under water sites, and a sunken temple on the sea floor," he answered while checking the alley over, making sure no one was eavesdropping.

"But for now, we're heading to Gangi'ih'Coh – Equipment specialist. It's the best place around here, he supplies most of our common gear, most of the stuff we buy through the guild connections, but he can outfit you well."

Couple more minutes passed until they reached a shop front at the back of an alley. Walking into the store, they saw it was covered with gear. It occurred to Harry that this could very well be a store where Indiana-Jones would get his outfit.

While he was examining the shop, Richard approached the man "Nice to see you again Gangi, I need to get my charge outfitted for the summer, with a standard pack, plus some other gear."

"Indeed, let me get one of out the back," he replied before heading out the back, just to return with a back sack of sorts, and addressed Harry.

"Lad, this backpack is charmed to be waterproof when fully sealed, light-weight, fireproof, and has an expansion charm on it tripling its volume," he explained before passing over the black backpack.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it kind of looks like a muggle one" Harry dared to say carefully, hoping to not to insult the store owner.

Gangi chuckled for a bit before saying, "I am a muggleborn, so I often rework muggle items, so they can work around magic. Do you know why most muggle inventions have to be reworked?" he asked

"I am a fear not, I understand they react badly with magic, and just explode most of the time" he said, a bit embarrassed by his lack of knowledge on the subject.

"I'm not surprised. It's funny, you think Hogwarts would teach you the reasons behind such things, but in short, magic fails to work on synthetic products as they are not natural, because and they can't handle the magical energies, which ends up tearing their structure apart... I don't know the wording, something about atomic bonds or something. But that's the reason why most muggle items fail to work, due to their internal bonds failing. Hence they explode or they fail to hold the charm," he explained.

"Ok thanks, I think I understood about half of that, but thanks anyways," he replied trying to recall what little science he did at school.

"Now what else do you need?" Gangi asked.

"Standard potions kit, a translation necklace charmed for Greek, Latin, and Turkish, also a hunting kit. We'll pick out a weapon and necessary armour in a minute," Richard said, as if reading a list.

"Weapon? I thought a wand would be fine," he wondered while watching Gangi get the things together.

"A wand is not always the best piece of equipment for the job, and there are creatures, which are magically resistant where we're going, it would best for you to use a light spear, it is most effective for the environment" he explained.

"And the armour?" he asked.

"Better safe than sorry, besides, we'll be getting you some light armour which you can throw away at end of summer. Since I expect you to go through a growth spurt this summer, there's frankly no point getting you any heavy armour, especially since it'd be too heavy for you to use effectively. You'll be better off using light weight gear, relying on speed and agility for safety, at least until you bulk up enough for medium or heavy armour. Besides, such armour is extremely expensive. Most of the time, it's custom-made, and take anywhere between a month to a full year to be made, since there are maybe only a dozen crafters in world," Richard explained.

"Really?" he asked

"Really, this is not dragon-hide armour worn by Aurors, considered by most as heavy armour, but in our line of work, it is considered as light armour. For us, heavy armour is made out of plates of silver, with dragon-hide under-padding, silk and runes. In short, it's made for fighting, but looks like a piece of art." He detailed

"Wow, sounds impressive!" Harry let out with a whistle at the image.

"It is indeed, at times, our work is highly dangerous, as much as we like to think us wizards are civilized and controlled by collective laws. In truth, in most parts of world, wizards are at each other throats, and only care about two things, their own power and position. If we were going to South America or parts of Africa, I wouldn't have allowed you to come, because we would have been constantly in danger of being attacked or killed," he said soberly.

"I wonder why Aurors only use dragon-hide then?" he questioned, thinking over what Richard had said.

"Because dragon-hide is rather cheap in comparison and easy to repair and replace and one can outfit several hundred Aurors using just dragon-hide. Plus, most Aurors spend their time hunting minor criminals and by teams of four, so dragon-hide is more than enough. If they ever go Hit Wizard, they generally start getting more specialized equipment." Richard explained while looking through the shelves.

"I guess that makes sense," he said.

"Yeah, the ministry like any government is always looking for the cheapest option they can use, without upsetting its employees," he mused soberly.

**Sometime later**

Damn, it he had been a long day in the end, but Harry didn't regret it one bit, he had learned a lot, and was fully ready for his trip. After getting home from his shopping, he had gone down to the local gym, and had done an hour or two of swimming.

But everything had been sorted; he had also gone shopping in the non magical world to pick up some clothes, shorts, t-shirts. The rest of the gear would be taken off when they would finally go to the Mediterranean; he also picked up some hiking boots.

In short, he was ready to go on his great adventure. Gringotts Bank had been mighty helpful as well, he had set up all the paper work, and he also was going to take over the management of his accounts next year after he returned from the trip.

It turned out that the headmaster had signed the document stating he was to be considered an adult after his next birthday, which had been co-signed by his relatives. He had to admit he was interested to know how his head of house had managed to get that one pass the headmaster...

Sure he wouldn't be a full adult, nor could he take up his seat in courts, but he would be fully in charge of his accounts and management of assets. He had told his manager he would be willing to leave it all in goblins hands until he was at least 17, they just had to inform him before they did anything big.

Now, all he had to do was wait until Wednesday, and he'd be off.

**End of chapter**

* * *

I'd like to say thank you to Sekhmet49, for checking my story.


	3. The Huntress

**The Deepest Depths**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Harry Potter or its characters, it all belong to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

**The Deepest Depths - Chapter 3: The Huntress**

**Beta by Sekhmet49**

**05/08/2012**

The big day had finally arrived. He had packed the night before; his trunk, fully loaded, had then been shrunken, before being placed in his new backpack. He checked several times to make sure he had all that was needed. Now, it was time for him to say his good-byes.

Heading down the stairs, wondering what his friends would say if they saw him now, heading off on this adventure. Hermione would surely be jealous at the idea that he would be travelling and learning exotic magic, Ron would be envious of him getting more gold and loot. That was one of the worst points about being Ron's friend; he suffered from the green-eye monster of jealously. Sometimes, he just wanted to scream at him; Ron always seemed to forget that his fame came at price of his family, but for all Ron's faults, the guy was still his best friend.

Striding into kitchen, he saw his relatives sitting around the table enjoying their breakfast. Coughing lightly to attract their attention, he stated, "I'll be leaving in a couple of minutes, if everything goes as planned I won't be back until the last week of summer, so I hope you have a nice summer break."

"Good, hopefully you'll impress them, so they will recruit you for next summer!" Vernon said with some glee, his fat features forming into a smile.

Taking that as his cue to leave, he went to retrieve his backpack he had left beside the door, deciding to pick some food on the way to the bank, since it was a better option than eating with the Dursleys

Unlocking the front door to leave, he suddenly heard a 'pop' from behind him, triggering him to spin around and his wand shooting into his grip, only to see that it was just Dobby.

Replacing his wand back into his holster, "Hi Dobby, what can I do for you?" he greeted, smiling at the odd elf.

"Please Harry Potter sir, please take Dobby with you," the bouncing elf begged.

"Take you with me? I thought you wouldn't be interested in leaving Hogwarts," he questioned, trying to think over what he knew of house elves.

"Yes, Harry Potter sir, Dobby will be your personal elf," he exclaimed excitedly.

Seeing no harm in it, since Dobby liked to clean and cook, and he'd rather avoid such tasks, and the elf could be helpful in future, he agreed, "Sure what do I need to do?"

"Nothing sir, the process has already started!" the elf stated before popping away.

Opening the front door to finally leave for the summer, he looked back over his shoulder one final time to see that Dobby had already started cleaning the place. He just hoped the elf would not been seen by his relatives, nor would Dobby attract the attention of the ministry this time. It occur to him that Dobby could be very useful on the trip as well, it would save him from having to do any cooking or cleaning, which was a good thing in end.

He headed down the road a bit before summoning the Knight bus, which appeared a couple of minutes later, before he bought a one way ticket to Diagon Alley. Eventually, he arrived at the Alley; only after being thrown around the bus... they really needed to add seat belts!

Stepping into the bar, he looked at the grandfather clock in the corridor and saw that he had plenty of time before meeting Richard at Gringotts bank. Deciding to get something to eat, since he had plenty of time, he strolled over to the bar to order something, there recognizing Tom's familiar face.

He ate his meal rather quickly, since he fancied a bit of shopping to see if there was anything of interest. Since in all his other trips to the Alley he had always been with others, or to perform a specific task, he had never been able to just roam the place. It was nice to be able to look around the place, looking in odd shops for bits and pieces of interest. Especially since Molly was usually constantly looking over his shoulder. So he could never just browse the wares; the witch had the bad habit of always interrupting him, or pulling him away from an interesting book.

However, he did attract some looks, since he was in long shorts, hiking boots and a t-shirt, so hardly following the wizard unspoken dress code of always wearing robes on top of everything. Frankly, it was too hot to wear such things.

In one of the shops he perused, he ended up buying a plain silver ring, charmed to detect most potions and poisons, such as love potions, since he could see girls possibly spiking his food with it, like Molly joked about with Arthur, because of his fame. He, however, knew that he wouldn't have to worry much about most poisons, since he had been exposed to Basilisk venom; hence had built an immunity and resistance. Sure the ring cost a quite bit, but he deemed it worthwhile.

During this self appointed shopping trip, he stopped by one of the many book stores, imitated Hermione and bought a dozen books. More than half were on curses, jinks and hexes. But, he also picked up some on Magical beasts, Charms, Runes and Transfiguration, as he figured that he properly would have some time to kill. Plus, since he could use his magic this summer he might as well make the most of it! And all this was possible by the permit the headmaster had signed.

He also picked up one on the Magical government and laws, since it was becoming more and more apparent that he would need to know about it in the future.

However the shop didn't have any specialist books, and since he still had some time, he chose to check out some of the shops down one of the darker alley ways. Walking there, he asked a couple of local merchants if they knew any book stores. The owner of an exotic pet shop told him where to find such a place, though only after he helped to handle a venomous snake or two.

He was half tempted to buy a runespoon, but decided otherwise as for one, he didn't know how to care for it, and it would cause uproar if he brought it to Hogwarts. So he decided to leave buying a magical snake until after he finished Hogwarts.

Before long he reached a book store, called _Rare Finds, Rare Secrets_. Looking inside it was clearly the place that dealt with some of the more colourful tomes. After a while he found a couple of books of interest, one being on how to achieve the Animagus transformation, and the other one was on Parseltoungue.

He also picked up a couple of more Greyish books on combat curses and hexes, since it seemed stupid of him to limit himself to learning just the magics approved by the Ministry. Sure he wasn't buying anything on Dark Arts, but he did pick up an advance potion book, and a book on mind arts, which he thought sounded useful.

All four books cost him a fair bit of gold, but he deemed it a worthwhile investment. If they turned out to be useless he wouldn't shop there again. He deciding to head over to the bank, on the way he saw couple year mates, and had a quick chat, just to pass the time since he was still early.

Entering the bank, he walked over to one of the teller's desk and waited for the Goblin to acknowledge him.

"What do you want human?" The goblin asked.

"I'm part of Richards's party, he said I should ask a goblin for directions to the meeting room," he stated.

The goblin hit a table bell, only for another goblin to appear, and said "Please escort Mr Potter to Meeting room 7."

He was the first one to arrive, which he kind of expected as he was half an hour early. Making himself comfortable for the wait, he pulled out one of the books he just bought. It was entitled _Secrets of a Parseltoungue Sorcerer – by I.P_. Quickly scanning through the book, he find out it was part of a collection of 5 tomes, and that it was indeed very old.

He was so involved in the book that he didn't even realize someone had entered and was watching him read.  
"What're you reading?" She questioned smoothly, but with a demanding presence, causing him to look up in surprise, only to see a rather attractive blonde sitting in front of him wearing similar gear to his own; but in a pair of short shorts compared to his knee length pair, showing off a rather nice pair of legs. Finally, he met her eyes, which he seemed to fail to describe. They were measuring him up almost as if judging if he was a future dinner. If he should use one word to describe the blond, _predator_ would be the right one.

"A parseltoungue spell book," he answered seeing little point in lying since the lines were easy recognisable, especially since he would probably be living near the young women for the next couple of months so there was little point in hiding the fact.

"So the rumours are true, the great Harry Potter is indeed a Parseltoungue, I bet that was a surprise," she stated sarcastically.

"Since you know my name, how about you share yours?" He challenged, feeling rather bold.

"Cara."

"Then, nice to meet you, I think," he replied, bringing a smirk to her face.

"I'm guessing you're Richard's Apprentice then, but I have to admit you're a bit younger than I expected," once again, examining him, looking him over, like he was piece of meat.

"Maybe. So, what do you then?" he asked.

"I'm both a shield and a tracker," she stated proudly with a grin, which kind of reminded him of Sirius, just a bit more wolfish. Then it suddenly clicked, he did a quick scan of her, looking for any signs of silver. Seeing no silver, except for the choker centre piece made out of metallic silver, now it all made sense, she was a werewolf!

"You worked it out, haven't you?" She challenged.

"What do you mean?" he played dumb. After all, it wouldn't do to go around accusing someone of being a werewolf.

"I can hear you heart, don't tell me you're one of those who see werewolves as pest to be removed or enslaved!" She shot back.

"No, I happen to know someone who is a werewolf, and I had a close encounter with him after his Wolfsbane was tainted. I also have a friend who is a dog animagus, so I can spot the signs and the subtle differences. Plus your own aura, your whole persona, beneath that sexy, playful exterior, is screaming predator," he explained, wondering why he was feeling so bold and confident as of late.

"Well, that's nice surprise since it means I won't have to hide it, so is it my legs or my chest?" she quizzed in a predatory fashion.

He ignored the question and decided to move the chat onto safer grounds. "No comment. So, how did you get into this career?" He asked, trying not to blush at the previous statement.

"No comment, unless you answer my question," she smirked, enjoying teasing him.

"Out of the two options, legs, so now how did you become a shield and a tracker," he probed wondering how an attractive young woman got into this career path.

"You didn't answer the question." She shot back, not liking his answer.

"Yes I did, you said legs or chest, you never said, it could be something else" he explained, trying not to blush, "So are you going to answer the question, or do I have to assume that your word is not true?!" he shot back.

Her eyes narrowed for a second, before answering, "There're not many employers who are willing to hire a werewolf, I was fortunate to have a family friend, who happen to be a shield brother and in the employment of goblins, so they recruited me.

My Lycanthropy brings me big advantages in tracking and fighting, what most wizards and witches don't practice. It made me a natural for hunting prey through jungles, where other wizards would fail, and my senses are also helpful for keeping watch."

"Yeah, I'd imagine that Goblins are particular in that regards, as long as you do your job well, they don't care one way or another," he mused, wondering if Remus ever tried to get a job here.

"I see you two are getting along nicely," said Richard, entering the room, looking around, "We got a change of plans I fear we're going out ahead of the rest of the team, to get everything set up for them, unless you want to wait..." he trailed off.

"What caused the change of plans?" Cara asked.

"It appears the rumour mill has been working again, and somehow a rumour has spread of a werewolf team member, and that has caused some ruffled feathers, with a couple of people. Also someone started a rumour that this was a dry trip causing several people to drop out." He stated, "But Michael wants to push ahead anyway, I quote his words _more gold for us._"

"Don't worry he knows Richard, he pegged me in less than five minutes" Cara said gesturing to Harry. Richard looked at him again, like he was re-examining him, and asked, "What gave her away?"

"A friend of mine is a werewolf, and it was covered this year at Hogwarts, so the signs were easy to spot, her whole stance when you look beneath the surface screams predator, and there is no trace of silver on her, hence confirming it. And now that I think about it her fingerless gloves should also be a giveaway, otherwise holding silver coins would be painful," he explained.

"Well that's impressive, most people can't tell with Cara here," he stated. He then asked him seriously, "You have no problem with her being a werewolf? You will be living close to her for the next couple of months, and probably see her in her alternative form."

"No I don't, as long as Cara takes her Wolfsbane, and is responsible then I have no issue, as long as you don't judge me for reading about Parseltoungue spells here, because I'd rather not hide the fact or pretend otherwise," he said gesturing to his book.

"Good, besides Cara is very good in duelling and probably could teach you loads. I suggest you do any last minute checks, we'll be taking an international port-key over to Rhodes in the next couple of minutes," Richard informed, before leaving them to collect the port-key.

Therefore, Harry put his book away and checked over everything once again.

"Gather around, please, Harry hold onto the rope." Richard instructed, before putting on his own backpack like the rest, and took hold of rope and activated the portkey with the sentence

"Team7-Rhodes bank" causing it to activate.

**Rhodes**

The three were walking down the foreign streets, taking in the sights and sounds. Despite the different language, Harry could understand every word thanks to his charmed necklace.

So now, they were making their way down to the docks to find their ship and their home for the next couple of months.

It didn't take them long to find theirs. While the rest of the dock was filled with small fishing boats and merchant ships, theirs was the only yacht in port. It also had the Gringotts bank logo on its wooden hull, making it hard to miss. The logo also acted as a warning that any act of thievery or any attack would be a declaration of war against Gringotts bank.

"Wait here, I need to shut down the lockdown." Richard stated in a no-nonsense tone before putting a ring of his finger.

"Why the ring?" Harry asked.

"This is a goblin vessel, its wards are deadly, and it only allows those wearing rings like these to board her. Otherwise you would probably be dead before you set foot on it." Cara explained before putting her pack down on the peer, before continuing "What Ric is doing, is turning off the security feature so we can board, so he should take a couple of minutes to shutting off the security wards."

Sitting down, he decided to let Hedwig out, so carefully opening his bag, he pulled out Hedwig's cage, to see his owl was still asleep from the couple of sleeping treats he had bought from the pet shop. Bit like travel sickness pills really. It took a while for her to fully wake up; eventually she was her playful self.

"You brought your owl?" Cara questioned.

"Could hardly leave her behind could I? Besides I don't trust my relatives to care for her," he said, while gently stroking her feathers.

Cara came over and tried to stroke Hedwig however, the owl immediately hisses, before going in for a bite. "Fuck!" She exclaimed before sucking on the cut, "Nasty bird you got there."

"Hedwig has always been picky, it'll take time before she'll trust you," he said, defending his friend.

"Come on you two, enough chatting, we need to unpack, and prepare for the rest of the crew." Richard called, leaning over the ship's railings.

**End of chapter **


	4. Announcement

**Announcement**

Hey guys, I know some of you have thought I had stop writing this story, however I haven't... I have been doing a rewrite of it...

Why you ask? Well I look back at it, and I wasn't happy with it... so I wanted to start a new.

I got up to chapter 5 written, and is about 20k words, but I need someone to beta it for me... my current betas are overworked with my other story... so if anyone is up for it, send me a message...

I'll post the new chapters soon as they have been beta.

Please Pm if you feel you can help


End file.
